Silver Interior Space and Exhibition Design · 2023
Square Hsg Learning Center
- A' Design Award 2023 Silver Winner in Interior Space and Exhibition Design
- Awarded April 15, 2023
- CLIENT: Evolution Design
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 22,660
- Verification code F733B48DB4 · Verify this award
About Square Hsg Learning Center
Square is a learning center for a university in Switzerland. The interior is built as an open grid and is based on the idea of unbroken connectivity and multifunctionality. The design covers around 7000 square meters across two upper floors, a ground floor and a basement. Open plan areas are combined with fifteen rooms, a cafeteria and a lounge. A toolbox of movable furniture, presentation equipment, a foldable stage, rugs and plants allows each area to be arranged for the event taking place. Most items are fitted with castor wheels, so they can be moved freely.
Evolution Design's Square Hsg Learning Center exemplifies a significant contemporary approach to educational architecture that prioritizes social interaction, spatial generosity, and material authenticity as fundamental components of the learning experience. The design emerges from a tradition of institutional architecture that recognizes circulation spaces not merely as functional connectors but as primary venues for the informal exchanges and chance encounters that enrich intellectual communities. The commanding concrete staircase, rendered in the honest materiality of exposed structural concrete, recalls the tectonic expressionism of mid-twentieth-century brutalist precedents while achieving a warmer, more inviting spatial character through careful orchestration of natural materials and living elements. The architect demonstrates sophisticated chromatic sensibility in the strategic deployment of bold color accents—crimson panels that command attention and golden wood surfaces that invite touch—against the restrained concrete backdrop, creating visual landmarks that aid orientation while generating aesthetic pleasure. Particularly noteworthy is the integration of biophilic elements, most dramatically the living column entirely sheathed in trailing vegetation, which introduces ecological presence and the psychological benefits of natural systems into the architectural experience. The stepped timber seating platforms transform what might otherwise be residual space beneath the stair into genuinely valuable social territory, their amphitheatrical arrangement suggesting both informal gathering and impromptu presentation possibilities. The sectional strategy of visual openness across multiple levels creates what might be understood as an interior streetscape, where movement becomes visible spectacle and the building's population becomes part of its ever-changing ornament. Visitors might consider how such spatial generosity and material investment in circulation areas reflects evolving pedagogical philosophies that value collaborative learning and interdisciplinary exchange as essential components of contemporary education.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Built as an open grid, Square is based on the concept of unbroken connectivity and multifunctionality. All spaces can be used for dynamic learning and teaching scenarios – from communication, collaboration and presentations in large groups to concentration and individual work. Most spaces are, therefore, equipped with movable furniture and equipment that perfectly match the requirements of the event taking place and the number of people in attendance.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- With a total area of around 7000 square meters, Square has two upper floors, a ground floor and a basement.
- Tags
- SQUARE, HSG, University of St. Gallen (HSG), learning design, learning concept
- Production Technology
- To accommodate the daily changes in use of space, the interior architects developed a customized toolbox concept – a set of elements like furniture, presentation equipment, a foldable stage, rugs and plants – all of which can be easily combined to create distinctive layouts and atmospheres within the open plaza. To increase the spatial versatility, most items – from chairs and stools to whiteboards, tables and plants – are fitted with castor wheels allowing the items to be moved around freely.
- Design Challenge
- Our main task was supporting the artistic director’s team in modelling countless learning and event scenarios that can take place in Square and developing a comprehensive scheme of furniture, presentation equipment and architectural elements that would satisfy the current and future uses of the space. Additionally, we also designed the cafeteria and all 15 learning and meeting rooms.
- Project Duration
- The construction of the project started in November 2019 and was completed in November 2021. The interior fit-out project started in June 2021 and was completed in February 2022.
- Operation Flow
- Square consists of open plan areas – designed as an inspiring journey through the building – and fifteen rooms extended across three floors. The ground floor welcomes visitors with a cafeteria, a lounge, rooms for learning and pop-up events and the main open plaza. This is a bustling space where activities change daily: ranging from events with the participation of external guests to workshops, masterclasses and courses, and students working in groups on their projects.
- Research
- The University of St. Gallen aims to become a symbol of innovation in education and the new learning center is an important step towards achieving this goal. Built as a prototype for the university of the future, Square encourages dialogue between science, society, business, politics and culture. In the largest fundraising campaign in the history of the university, the Hsg Foundation received around 65 million Swiss francs in donations to build Square as well as to support its content development in the initial phase.
- Inspiration
- Square is an experimental field for new, future-oriented forms of learning and teaching. It was designed not to be just another university campus building, but rather a home to new ideas and concepts, experimentation and debate. The building was designed by Sou Fujimoto, and Evolution Design was commissioned to develop a comprehensive interior and learning concept that enables experimental learning and teaching and to fit out the building and several roof terraces.
- Image Credits
- Image #1: Photographer Peter Wuermli, 2022. Image #2: Gataric Fotografie, 2022. Image #3: Photographer Peter Wuermli, 2022. Image #4: Photographer Peter Wuermli, 2022. Image #5: Photographer Peter Wuermli, 2022.
Colors of Square Hsg Learning Center
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